What's new in September 2020

Using organoids to study early-stage lung cancer

• What they did: The researchers developed lung organoids from mouse or human stem cells, then introduced a cancer-initiating mutation in the KRAS gene. 

• What they found: By tracking gene expression in the lung organoids, the researchers found that they had markers of cancer progression that matched patient tumor samples at different stages of the disease.

• Why it matters: This model can be used to identify and test potential drugs for early-stage lung cancer.

A map of the human heart

• What they did: The researchers studied almost half a million individual cells, using multiple techniques to analyze which genes are turned on and off.

• What they found: The researchers found a large diversity of cell types in the different parts of the heart. They also catalogued details of heart muscle cells, immune cells that play a role in cardiac repair, and blood vessels.

• Why it matters: With this map of the human heart, researchers can better understand how the heart functions and what goes wrong during disease, and identify potential targets for personalized therapies.